


What Happens After The 1001th Night?

by messylochness



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Age Swap, Angst, Dystopia, Evil King, Fluff, M/M, Middle East!AU, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:49:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22224388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/messylochness/pseuds/messylochness
Summary: In order to save his family and the people that he knew, Kyungsoo agreed to marry the ruthless king, Kim Jongin. He might not the best sword master of his village, but he believed that he could fight and stop the king from killing his newlywed spouses. But what would happen to him when it all ended?Arabian Nights AU!TW: mention of violence, mention of murders, vague description of violence.
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	What Happens After The 1001th Night?

**Author's Note:**

> This work was supposed to be posted under EXO Once Upon A Time Fic Fest but unfortunately I could not meet the deadline, and the mods are kindly allowed me to post this fic outside of the fest. 
> 
> I would like to thank my betas: Mandy, Hunnie, Arya and VK for spare me their precious time to help checked my plot holes, fixed my poor grammar, and help improved this story. I could never be able to deliver this story without their help.
> 
> Lastly, I want to dedicate this story to celebrate Kyungsoo and Jongin's birthday, and I want to thank everyone who read this.

The wailing sirens jarred at Kyungsoo's eardrums. He groaned while rubbing at his eyes to dissipate the drowsiness. The table clock on his vanity ticked several times, signalling that the minutes turned into hours. It was only four in the morning, but the announcement that following it declared the death of the King's newest spouse. A wife that he had just married less than twenty four hours ago. The hundredth spouse—or more, people started to lose count—that died on their wedding night.

Kyungsoo pushed his blanket down when he sat up. He stretched his sore neck and back before trying to tidy his bed hair. His reflection showed through the looking glass at the wall in front of his bed. Kyungsoo had not had the chance to collect himself when the door to his room pushed ajar to allow his youngest sibling in. His wide eyes glistened with tears; he must have heard the bells signaling the death of the king's wife. Kyungsoo signed Jungwoo to come near; the smaller boy ran towards him, knocking the elder into the headboard because of the force. He snuggled close at Kyungsoo's chest while sniffling hard, making the front side of Kyungsoo's tunic wet. Kyungsoo ran his fingers at his little brother's soft fluffy hair. 

"I hate the king, he's so evil, I hope he rots in hell. It could be you, _hyung_ ," Jungwoo cried. "I'm scared. Can you just… can we just run away?"

"You know we can not leave this house. No, we will not leave this house," he inhaled the sweet scent of shea butter in Jungwoo's head, wondering whether it would be his last day to smell this calming fragrance. "It's the only possession left by our parents. Well, besides you and Jongdae _hyung_ , of course."

"But they already took Jongdae _hyung_ with them," Jungwoo whined. "They can not take you too, _hyung_. They took Seungkwan's brother and sister, they put Mr. Jung the tailor in jail because he mistook the measurements of the king's new robes. They already took everyone else from this village, they are not going to take the rest of our family members from me. I will fight the king's guards for you."

"I know, I know," Kyungsoo hugged him tighter. "But we should be here when Jongdae _hyung_ is back. And he will definitely be back, just have a little bit of faith."

They took their eldest brother, Jongdae, last summer when they needed more men to strengthen their army. Jongdae was not a soldier. He was a singer, people used to call him the mighty nightingale, for his voice possessed both power and softness when he sang. 

Their neighbors and people from other villages hired him to sing at a wedding or gathering party. 

Jongdae was a beautiful man with delicate fingers and small figure. He never held weapons before, not trained to use one, but the king's guards did not care. They took all the young men with them to be their frontliner soldiers against the neighboring kingdom, Agrabah. They never heard anything from Jongdae ever since that day. It was not like he was allowed to write letters to family members either. The only reason they did not take Kyungsoo with them back then was because he was a minor.

Their father died before Jungwoo's fifth birthday. He was forced to labor for the new king's coronation day preparation, and died due to overwork. Kyungsoo was only eleven years of age when they buried their father. He was a loving family man. He supported Jongdae's wish to become a singer. He saved the money that he got from selling the fruits, and bought him a nice music box from the flea market. He even fixed it with his own hands, and gave it as a birthday gift when Jongdae turned fifteen, a few days before his death. Jongdae still had it in his room, he did not bring it to the barracks when they took him. Kyungsoo sometimes turned it on when he missed both his deceased father and brother.

The previous king, Kim Sooro, decided to step down from the throne and descend it to his eldest son, the crown prince Kim Jongin who had just come of age and was already wedded to a beautiful noblewoman from the neighboring kingdom. The old monarch decided to build himself large vessels with double decks to spend his old days sailing the open seas, but his ship sank when a thunderstorm struck around the northern sea. The whole country mourned for his death for almost five years, and that was when everything went wrong.

Unlike his father who ruled with wisdom and fairness, Kim Jongin was a ruthless king. He did not hesitate to raise taxes, lengthened the working hours for the scholars, trampled an entire vineyard by the south hill right before it was harvested to build a summer palace just because he loved the view, and imposed death sentences more than the amount of people killed in the battlefield. 

One day when he had just gotten back from the mourning hall after his father was announced death albeit they could not find his body, he caught his wife sleeping with her own cousin. He was beyond reason, he beat her to pulp before sentencing her and the young man to death. Both of them were beheaded at the town hall where everyone could see, as a reminder to his people that he would not accept cheating. Ever since that day, whichever lad that King Jongin married failed to accomplish the first test given by the king on their wedding night, would not live to see another day.

Today might be the funeral day for Kim Jongin's recent spouse. But tomorrow he would find himself a new one, wife or husband, depends on who he found attractive enough to lay his hand into. That person could be Kyungsoo since he was the only candidate left from this village,the only one old enough to be wedded. 

Other young girls or boys around his age neither had been married or became a monk, afraid to become the next victim of the king at their wedding night. They had taken all the singles of legal age from almost every single village ruled by the king. It was his turn to sacrificed his life, Kyungsoo knew that, and he had been preparing himself for the moment. If they were going to take him at any moment, he was determined to end the king's old habit for real. 

Jungwoo's stomach growled when he finished crying. Kyungsoo giggled, he patted his fluffy hair lovingly.

"Go wash yourself, I'm going to prepare some breakfast," he shoved the younger sibling playfully. 

***  
  


Kyungsoo prepared breakfast for the two of them while Jungwoo washed himself in the public bathroom by the end of the alley. The well behind their house was frozen during winter, and the public bathroom happened to have hot springs. He would wash himself later when Jungwoo returned before going to work. Kyungsoo helped Mr. Gong transcribe any kind of books, from nonfiction to steamy romance novels for a living. There were not many people that could write as neat as his penmanship and his books always sold at the higher price. He usually bought Jungwoo meat pancakes whenever he got his payments.

As he was flipping eggs in the frying pan while humming to one of Jongdae's favorite songs, there came rapid, demanding knocks on the door. The next thing he knew, several guards in blue robes barged into his house. They manhandled him and twisted his arms behind his back, before they led him out of his house. Someone kicked Kyungsoo's calves, making him fall on his knees.

Kyungsoo's neighbors gathered in front of their own homes, all of them on their knees. Kyungsoo looked around, most of them were old and some of the younger ones were pregnant. Kyungsoo pitied Soojung who had to kneel while carrying twin babies on her womb. Haneul looked even paler than Kyungsoo could remember. The elder man was only several months into pregnancy and his morning sickness was really terrible. His husband was nowhere to be seen, Kyungsoo wondered whether Jisoo _hyung_ was forcefully separated from him or happened to leave the house before the guard invaded their village. Everything was in chaos, babies cried, people screamed, and the guards beat people who refused to follow the order.

The sight was even almost familiar to him in a bad way. It always looked as chaotic as this every time the king demanded something from his people, and it had been happening too often since the last few years. This time, Kyungsoo knew exactly what they want, but he was not expecting it to happen so soon. Especially not when the body of the king's deceased wife might not have been buried yet. The king must have been displeased with his previous spouse so much that he could not wait another day to remarried.

"Kyungsoo _hyung_ !" Kyungsoo turned his head towards the incoming voice. "No! Not him! Don't take him from me. Kyungsoo _hyung_!"

He could see his younger brother ran frantically while screaming his name repeatedly towards their house. His damp hair matted on his forehead and several misplaced buttons on the front of his tunic. He must have hurriedly dressed himself before coming to rescued the only family member he had left. He tried to make way for himself, slipping between several adults that stood around in a half-circle around the villagers. Some elder folks tried to prevent him, but it only fuelled his anger. Other guards were trying to detain Jungwoo, and lifted him into the air with ease.

"Don't hurt my brother!" Kyungsoo screamed at the royal guard. "Take me! I’m the only one left from this village. Just take me, don't hurt him."

One of the guards stepped forward. They put a finger under Kyungsoo's chin, lifted his face. "Volunteering yourself, huh?” He wiped Kyungsoo’s cheek that smeared with dust when he fell before. “What a pretty face you have, the king will surely love to wreck this beauty before sending you to your deathbed." He let go of Kyungsoo's face then straightening his back, motioned to his people to retract. "We already got what we need. Let's bring him."

" _HYUNG!_ NO!"

"Don't you dare to take him!” Mr. Han suddenly stood from his kneel, but only to receive a hard kick on his back. “He was an orphan,” his voice muffled when the guard stepped on the back of the neck, pressed him harder to the ground. 

"Oh, our poor Kyungsoo…"

"He's still too young…"

They placed a dark thick cloth around Kyungsoo's head. It did not effectively muffle the sounds around him, for he could clearly hear the wailing cry from Jungwoo, several shocked gasps from some elderly lady, and loud,fuelled by anger screams, from some men who were attempting to fight the guards. It wasn't like Kyungsoo had any other choice. He was lucky enough when they took Yeonja and Soobin—may both girls rest in peace —a week ago. 

Youngjae, the poultry farmer's son who could not stop crying several months ago, or Taejoon, Jongdae's pianist, almost a year ago from their village. And the hundreds more that they had taken from other villages as well. He needed to sacrifice himself so that they would not take Jungwoo or his best friends Jeongyeon and Seungkwan, for both of them were still minors. Who knew what their cruel king would do to fulfill his needs to both find himself a spouse and fulfill his thirst to kill innocent people.

Kyungsoo might not be able to see where they took him, but it was not like he did not know the directions to the king's palace. They probably did not want him to run away, or see the people who were close to him for the last time, since Kyungsoo's fate would be decided tonight.

Kyungsoo held his breath when the horse that he rode came to a stop. He was thrown down like a sack of wheat; he was sure that the nasty fall had scraped his knees, warm blood started to gush out of the torn skin. Rough hands helped him up, leading him to what seemed like inside the palace. Kyungsoo almost tripped himself when his bare feet struck at the edge of a thick carpet; the expensive one, since it almost feel like he was walking above the softest clouds. They dropped him to the floor before removing his blindfold.

"Hello," a middle aged woman greeted him. "I understand that you must be very terrified at this moment, but if you would willingly walk with us to the bath, that would be very helpful. We can treat your wounds later, the king won't like it when his bride or groom has gotten hurt by anyone else."

Kyungsoo nodded his head, delicate soft hands of his supposed to be maid, helping him strip out of his clothes. He winced when he stepped into the large tub, covered with rose petals. Only the king could afford water and the luxury of flower bath in the middle of winter. The water was too hot for his liking, but he pushed himself to bear it. More servants came into his room, they brought towels, some fancy bathing products, and expensive looking clothes.

He allowed them to lather him in soap and scrubbed his skin clean until it tinted crimson and tingled. Kyungsoo got out of the tub, rinsed himself in the smaller tub, filled to the brim with clean water. They helped him get dressed, the scratches on his knees were disinfected with a mashed leaf concoction. He bit his tongue when it stung, he loathed physical wounds that much, his eyes began to water. 

"You're a big boy, you will be fine," his maid said while patting his cheeks. "How old are you?"

"I turned seventeen a week ago."

She chuckled, "Such a handsome young man. They always take the finest lad in every village. My own daughter was only a year younger than you when I wedded her to a silk merchant from China." She closed her eyes while taking a deep breath, "You remind me of her so much, my heart long for her. I wished that you didn't have to go through this, but do we have the privilege to choose, after all?"

"Thank you," Kyungsoo sniffed. It felt so comforting to be held by a motherly touch. His mother died while giving birth to Jungwoo. The closest figure to a mother for him was his old neighbor Aunt Sejeong who would occasionally cooked braised lamb and briyani for them. "I haven't asked your name yet."

"My name is Hyojin," she smiled softly. "You're the first ever who asked for my name. Other people were too… busy minding their own business." 

"Are you the one who will be my maid from this day on?" Kyungsoo whispered. Her eyes dropped when she heard it, Kyungsoo suddenly regretted asking her that question. For once, he had forgotten that he might not live to see tomorrow morning. 

"Oh, I hope I will," she frowned, she placed Kyungsoo's palm above her wrinkly hands. "Promise me you'll live until the sun rise. It's such a shame if he wastes a handsome boy like you, you're the prettiest thing that they’ve brought to this palace."

"I will do my best to stay alive," Kyungsoo returned the smile, although he was unsure of his own words.

She cooed at him, "What a beautiful heart-shaped lips that you have. I bid you good luck, I have faith in you already."

Guards opened the door to Kyungsoo's chamber, they escorted him through the maze of endless hallways covered in draped tapestries hung from the high ceilings of the palace. Some of them held stories of the kingdom's old ancestors, how their bravery conquered other countries and expanded their territory. Kyungsoo could have stood for hours to admire its beauty if he was not on his way to his own funeral. He took a deep breath, his mind filled with endless messy thoughts of plans to escape death. 

***  
  


The officiant sat cross-legged in front of Kyungsoo when he settled to his own seat. His heart thrummed loudly against his ribcage, when the herald announced the king's arrival. To be honest, no commoners ever saw their king closely. Even if he was passing the country road to go on a trip, no one dared to lift their eyes directly at the king. Kyungsoo had not the slightest idea of how his husband to be looked like. The only thing that he knew was the king's age and his birthday; which was two days apart from his own, because they always held a banquet to celebrate it. He never thought that he was going to marry someone who is seven years older than him, he had never dated someone or experienced falling in love.

Kyungsoo held his breath when footsteps echoed against the marble flooring. The sudden silence around him did not make the situation any better. His fear escalated to the point that his arms are covered by goosebumps, his fingers trembling hard. He was lucky that the marriage ceremony was carried out while sitting, he might not be able to keep himself standing if it came to it. The king took his place at Kyungsoo's right side. The officiant took several deep breaths before starting the ceremony.

Kyungsoo had attended several wedding ceremonies enough to make him quite fascinated with how sacred and full of blessings the entire rituals were. He used to imagine that he would be crying ugly tears on his own wedding day, with Jongdae wrapping his arms around his shoulder to calm him down, or he would ruin his beautiful eye make-up. But he never thought when the moment came, it would feel like attending his own memorial he could feel his soul slowly leaving his body.

The officiant began to recite the story of how the first man that God had created felt lonely, so he prayed to the Almighty to bless him with a companion. When he fell asleep, God told his angels to steal half of his left rib bones and created another human. One with a delicate body, softer skin and beautiful face. The man fell in love with them, he showed his new companion the place he'd been visiting. One day when they were in the deepest part of a cave, he confessed his feelings and they made love. God blessed their union with little humans coming from the womb and they raised their kids together. 

The officiant later talk about the importance of love; how a couple should act towards each other,how they should cherish the wedding until the death. Then came the time where the officiant asked the one particular question —Do you want to continue the wedding ceremony?—to make sure that they loved each other enough for this wedding to proceed until the end. Although he should have known that it was not going to work like that in _this_ marriage, but the ritual is still a divine rule to follow.

The officiant forgot to mention the wonderful love story of how the first human on earth ended up with one of their children cutting the other's throat when they grew older, or he rather not tell at all. Greed and bloodlust had been running inside human's blood since the beginning of their lives. People tend to ignore tragedies, they would rather live in an imaginary happy life rather than face the bitter truth. 

"Proceed," The king answered with his deep husky voice full of confidence and certainty. Kyungsoo repeated with a softer, nearly a whisper reply. He noticed the way the king's head slightly tilted towards him, but he kept his eyes straight while trying hard to remain unaffected. He should not fear him, the flashes of Jungwoo and Jongdae's smile in his mind were enough reason for him to stay alive. 

"In the name of God, I wed you…" the officiant lowered his voice when he asked Kyungsoo, "may I know your name?"

"Kyungsoo," he replied. His quivering voice betray his stoic stance, "Do Kyungsoo."

"In the name of God, I wed you, Kim Jongin, King of Samarkand to Do Kyungsoo; to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part. And now I pronounce you as husband and husband." He touched the top of their heads as a blessing. "You are now allowed to hold your groom, Your Majesty."

They faced each other, Kyungsoo could clearly see the king's face now that they were less than an arm's length apart. He looked straight at the droopy eyes framed by lean eyebrows and pointed nose. Every part of his body curved sharply; from his jawline, to the broad shoulders and into his lean torso. He could not read him, his face impassive, but he could feel the wrath that had been kept inside for too long. 

The king patted his head once before dropping his arm in disgust. He was sure the servants had lathered his skin thoroughly in a flowery scented lotion that smelled beyond nice. The king might not want to touch him more than this, and Kyungsoo is silently grateful for that. He could not imagine spending the wedding night with someone who he just met, no matter how handsome he looked.

Kyungsoo was sent back to the chamber that he previously occupied in the middle of his own wedding party. Hyojin came to help him strip out of the thick wedding robes and remove his eye make-up. He looked tired without all the powder and red tints at his cheeks and lips.

Kyungsoo sat in front of his fireplace, clad in a thin dark tunic and pants bigger than his size since Hyojin could not find clothes that would fit his small body. The king might come to visit him later in the night, and he could not calm his nerves. Kyungsoo clasped his hands tight and prayed for God's mercy. He did not want to die tonight. He should not die, he did not want to leave Jungwoo by himself. Especially before he heard about Jongdae’s wellbeing. 

Kyungsoo did not know how long had he been praying when he heard the door to his chamber open. The king stepped inside, locking the door behind him. He pulled out a dagger that was strapped on his belt before taking a long stride towards Kyungsoo. His plump lips pulled into a smirk, the fire reflected in his darkened eyes.

"Stand up!" he ordered Kyungsoo. 

The younger boy followed what he had been told without asking. The king groped Kyungsoo's entire body started from the wrists to his arms, chest, waist, thighs, calves, ankles and lastly he put two digits of his fingers into Kyungsoo's mouth. He seemed surprised with the result. "Not bringing a weapon this time? You must be pretty good with hand to hand combat."

"I am a writer, not a fighter, Your Majesty," he was quite surprised that his voice turned out to be calm despite how trembling his body is. "I transcribed books and write my own poems."

The king looked smug, "I’ve never married a writer before, but I'm quite surprised that you're not even trying to kill me first," the king scoffed. "Are you giving up your life that easily? You are not fun at all," He pulled the small dagger out of the sheath then pressed the blade right to Kyungsoo's throat. It drew a drop of blood, but Kyungsoo would not falter.

"Why would I want to kill my own husband?" he retorted. 

"We're not _husbands_ ," the king pressed harder, it began to hurt Kyungsoo's throat. "You know that there is no way we're husbands. I don't seek a companion from commoners like you."

"Then who am I married to today?" his voice croaked.

"You might not live to see the sunrise tomorrow, so why would bother to acquiring you as a husband?" 

"You're right, Your Majesty. But you might have forgotten that it is my first wedding, and if I die tomorrow, I will die as someone else's husband. So, I'm practically married to you." Kyungsoo smiled when he knew he was going to win this battle. "Also, what's wrong with my status? I thought the previous king, may he rest in peace, once mentioned that everyone has the same place in front of our God, so there was no reason for him to treat his subjects differently."

"You really talk too much, don't you?" The king used his free hand to grab Kyungsoo's nape. The action cut his breathing short.

"You have so much hesitation for someone who is known to be a cold blooded person, Your Majesty," Kyungsoo closed his eyes, Knowing he’d pushed too much for someone attempting to stay alive, but he has not any better plan either way. "I honestly not surprised at this fact. Rumour has it that you did not kill all of your late spouses with your own hands, and it might be true.” 

"What do you mean?" The king gritted his teeth. Kyungsoo bit the inner side of his cheeks to prevent him from smiling. He sure had found his way to escape death tonight.

Back in his village, he had heard through the grapevine that the king really despised negotiation. He never questions anyone's reasons, nor asked them to explain anything to him. He was an arrogant tyrant just like that. Hearing him asking for an explanation lit up Kyungsoo's hope. He was almost sure that he could survive another night.

He opened his eyes to stare right into his wedded husband's eyes. The dark, piercing look in his eyes was really enticing. He might have fallen in love with the handsome face had they met in different circumstances. He could be the ordinary merchant's son who would give Kyungsoo a fine ink and paper as a courtship gift, like what Chanyeol did to Baekhyun, his best friend. Or he could be a friendly childhood friend that would protect him at all costs, just like Kyungho and Sooyoung. He wondered why he had never heard of the king's beauty before, but perhaps he was too fearsome to be admired.

"What I'm going to say is—" Kyungsoo coughed when the king dug his dagger deeper into his flesh, he was afraid that he might need a suture, if he survived the night. It spurt more blood and soaked the king's fingers. He could feel the satisfaction hum from his husband when he saw what he did.

"I killed them all myself, some of them with my bare hands. What kind of nonsense are you talking about. You really think there is someone who is mightier than me?"

"Unfortunately there _is_ , Your Majesty. Did you ever hear the story about a father who single-handedly raised his kids by himself? He was the bravest man ever for breaking the unwritten rules about parenting made by his society," Kyungsoo frowned, he hoped that it would be convincing enough to spark his interest.

"What is so special about that? Both men and women are entitled to raise their kids together," the king scoffed. 

" _In here_ , yes, Your Majesty," Kyungsoo agreed. "Because some men are blessed to be able to carry a child in their wombs at this place. We have no problem with parenting, as both genders are taking a fair amount of responsibility to raise their children. But, as a writer myself, I've read tales from around the world more than anyone else. Some of them fascinate me and some disgust me. Somewhere, someplace, they only have women _carriers_ and it makes some men belittle them as second class people."

"Nonsense! I've visited almost all places around the entire continent, and there is no such thing like that. Don't lie to me," The king tightened his grip around Kyungsoo's nape, making the knife press closer, he wheezed frantically. 

"Of course not, my husband," he plastered a fake smile that did not reach his eyes. "Why would I lie to you? Our marriage probably means nothing to you, but I took it very seriously. You might marrying a new boy or girl tomorrow, but tonight is maybe my last day and I want to make the most out of it. Now, will you fulfill my last wish?"

Kyungsoo had expected the worse. But, the king lowered his dagger released his grip and even soothed the skin that had been tainted in bruises with his fingertips was not one of them. The king sheathed his blade without cleaning it first then grabbed a clean towel to pressed upon Kyungsoo's wound. He sat cross-legged on one of the ottomans and gestured him to come near. Kyungsoo sat in front of him while pressing on his wound to stop the bleeding.

"I don't have much time," The king said. "You better make it quick, so that I can kill you before sunrise."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Kyungsoo bowed his head. "I shall not waste your precious time any longer. The story that I'm going to tell you happened in Seoul. Have you visited a city called Seoul?"

The king scrunched his eyebrows, "Never been there."

"Perhaps you have heard about it when you visited other places like the Chinese mainland? I heard it's close to Korea," The king seemed to pondering what Kyungsoo had said, and it might be a good sign. So he continued, "The world we live has its own dark side, either a ruthless king, bad government, or the general public's opinion. And none of them was worse than the other, there are no such a competition for the bad things."

"Just tell me the story. Now!"

Kyungsoo chuckled despite his sore throat, "Such an impatient man aren’t you? I shouldn’t be surprised." Kyungsoo sighed to even his breathing. He never thought about the importance of fresh air before he almost choked to death. The cut at his neck began to sting, he coughed to cover the hiss that slipped out of his lips before starting his story.

"This story took place in Seoul, one of the biggest cities in Korea. Seoul. The city where the lights never sleeps. The people who lived there rode a super fast underground train to get into places and they owned a rectangular shaped communication device. Oh, believe me when I say I envy their technologies. I could spend my entire life learning about their machinery and how everything works. I’ll skip the introduction to our main concern, since you seem very keen to see how it ends. Despite the best things that you could dream of, unfortunately, it's also a world where men believed raising kids was a woman's job. Well, since, you know, I've mentioned before that the don't have male carriers like me in their world."

"What did they do to the male carriers? Did everyone die?”

Kyungsoo shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“It's impossible if such a place without a male carriers exists," The king shook his head. He might need the time to let the new knowledge sink in.

"I don't know, my husband. Maybe the were banished, or they died from some disease that had no cure. Or they disappeared in the night without anybody knowing. I wish I could answer your question tonight.” He looked outside of his small window. The dawn was breaking. It would be morning soon, he just need to hang on a little bit. “But I hope your future spouses can tell you more about that. You just need to find the right person who would be able to satisfy your curiosity.”

"Alright," the king nodded his head. "Now, what happened to the strongest man on Earth?" the king grunted. He seemed like the one with a nasty temper, and it was no wonder, since he had been killing hundreds of innocents with his own hands. 

"Oh, believe me, he's struggling hard to get into his place now," Kyungsoo smiled. "And it was not easy at first, like any other stories ever told to begin with."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the story that I mentioned here is Dire Plaits written by talented XiuChen4ever (https://archiveofourown.org/works/19070788). I asked their permission to use one of their stories (this is my favorite so far) because I want the entire library of AO3 to replace the original stories of Arabian Nights (and since this work will be posted on AO3 too, so why not twisting the entire story as well?). I hope you enjoy this story and please visit the lovely XiuChen4ever's profile as well to drop them lots of love.


End file.
